Streamer adapted for towing by aircraft



March 24, 1936. on. YOUNG STREAMER ADAPTED FOR TOWING BY AIRCRAFT FiledMay 11, 1933 TORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OF'FHCE STREAMER ADAPTED FORTOWING BY AIRCRAFT Charles D. Young, Haverford, Pa., assignor to KellettAutogiro Corporation,

Philadelphia,

Claims.

This invention relates to streamers adapted for towing by aircraft, andmore particularly to streamers bearing words or symbols displayedthereon in such manner as to constitute a sign 5 clearly legible fromthe ground and therefore useful for the purpose of advertising.

With streamers of the type now used for advertising, it has been foundthat there are definite limitations on the length of the sign to bedisplayed. Where attempts have been made to exceed a particular lengthof sign, say, thirty letters or thereabouts, for a particular type oftowing aircraft, certain difficulties have been encountered. Either thestreamer is caused to sag or twist, making the sign difficult to readfrom the ground, or a drag element of prohibitive resistance has to betrailed at the rear of the streamer. To be effective for advertisingpurposes, the streamer must have stability and be maintained in asubstantially vertical plane with its longitudinal axis substantiallyhorizontal. Such stablity is ordinarily obtained by the use of dragelements at the rear of the streamer proportioned, as to the degree ofresistance offered,

according to the length and height of the sign. There are obviouslimitations, however, upon the weight of the streamer and its resistanceto towmg.

The object of my invention is to provide a streamer so designed andconstructed that it may extend to a greater length than those heretoforeused, and yet nevertheless be within the limitations of weight andresistance mentioned above, and which will also maintain its stabilitywhen towed in the air. To this end my invention is characterized by theprovision of a plurality of drag elements so spaced and connected to theframework of the streamer as to cause it to be held throughout itslength against twisting or a in A further object of the invention is toincorporate the drag elements in the streamer in such manner as toprevent obstruction of the sign carried thereon.

Other more specific objects and advantages characterizing my inventionwill become more fully apparent from the description hereinafter setforth of certain examples or embodiments of my invention, thedescription having reference to the accompanying drawing, whereof:

Fig. I represents a side elevation of a streamer of my invention withportions thereof broken away to permit the drawing to be on a relativelylarge scale.

Fig. II represents a cross section of the same,

taken as indicated by the lines II--II of Fig. I;

and,

Fig. III represents portions of a modified form of streamer embodying myinvention.

With reference to the streamer illustrated in 5 Fig. I, it will beobserved that the same comprises a rectangular skeleton frameworkincluding rigid vertical members I, 2 disposed in spaced parallelrelation and longitudinal non-rigid members 3, 4 parallel to each other.Preferably the vertical 10 members I, 2 may take the form of bamboopoles, whereas the upper and lower longitudinal members 3 are desirablymade of stout cord, and the intermediate longitudinal members 4 of finercord. In the particular example illustrated, the frame- 15 work isdivided longitudinally by the vertical members I, 2 into a series ofpanels a. From the upper and lower ends of the leading vertical memberI, diagonal tension members 5 extend rearward, intersecting each otherat the rear of go the first panel and joining the upper and lower endsof the vertical member 2 at the rear of the second panel. The diagonaltension members 5 are continued in the same manner throughout the lengthof the streamer. 2 5

At the forward or leading end of the streamer, I may employ a loopbridle 6 joining the upper and lower ends of the foremost verticalmemberI and forming therewith a triangular connection between the tow line Iand the framework of the streamer. The tow line 1 terminates in an eyeor thimble 8 surrounding the bridle 6 and slidable thereon. The lettersor symbols 9 to be displayed on the framework of the streamer aresecured by any suitable means to the intermediate 35 longitudinalmembers 4, or they may extend from the upper longitudinal 3 to the lowerlongitudinal 3, the present invention not being concerned with the modeof attachment of the display sign to the framework. 40

At spaced intervals throughout the length of the framework, I employvertical members of greater height than the other, the short verticalmembers being designated at I, and the longer vertical members beingdesignated at 2, the latter To the upper ends of the elongated verticalmember 2 there are attached drag elements Illa, I00, and lfle, which maytake the form of ordinary wind cones. Corresponding drag elements lllb,Md, and Inf are also shown attached to the lower ends of the elongatedvertical members 2; and to the rear end of the framework an additionalpair of drag elements Illg, lUh are attached. Drag elements lfla, I00,and We have associated therewith diagonal tension members I4 which leadfrom points along the top edge of the framework upward and rearward tothe upper ends of the elongated vertical members 2, thereby transmittingthe tension stresses in a substantially longitudinal direction along thetop edge of the streamer.

By thus providing a series of spaced drag elements along the upper edgeof the framework, the uppermost longitudinal member 3 is tensioned withforces applied at intervals of its length and is maintained taut duringflight of the streamer without tending to sag or twist in theintermediate regions between the ends of the framework. Moreover, thetotal resistance offered by the series of drag elements Ida, 10c, Hie,and my is considerably less than the resistance which would be requiredof a single drag element trailed at the rear of the framework andcapable of doing the same work. Likewise the drag elements lflb, HM, andH1 at the lower edge of the frame-work assist in maintaining thestability of the medial portion of the framework and may be found usefulin addition to the upper series of drag elements.

Irrespective of the number and disposition of the drag elem'ents alongthe streamer, I prefer to proportion these elements so that theyincrease progressively in resistance from the forward end toward therear of the framework. Thus in Fig. I the first pair of drag elementsHm, I b would be relatively small, the next pair Hie, Hid would belarger, the next pair Hle, lilf still larger, and the trailing dragelements leg, Hlh considerably larger than any of the others. In thismanner each drag element is made to a size just sufficient to performthe work required of it and adequate stability is obtained with aminimum of total resistance to towing.

It being important to maintain the center of gravity of the frameworkwell below the towing axis, weights I5 are placed at the lower edge ofthe framework, conveniently at the lower corners thereof, where they areattached to the bottom ends of the leading and trailing vertical membersI. In order, however, to minimize the total weight of the streamer, Imay, as shown in Fig. III, employ in lieu of, or in reduction of.weights, lift elements lfi, such as a kite, attached by a line I! to theupper edge of the framework. The lift elements is may also beproportioned as to resistance offered, and serve not only to lower theeffective center of gravity, but also assist in maintaining the desireddegree of tautness in the framework.

In Fig. III there is shown a further modification in that a single dragelement lllzn is trailed at the rear of the streamer, the same beingslidably connected to a trailing loop l8 which joins the upper and lowerends of the rearmost vertical member I.

While I have described certain specific examples of the practice of myinvention, it will be apparent, especially to those skilled in the art,that various changes may be made in the particular form of the streamer,its framework, and the nature and disposition of the drag elements,

all without departing from the spirit of the invention .as defined inthe annexed claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A streamer adapted for towing by aircraft comprising a tow line, anelongated skeleton framework attached thereto, and drag elements atspaced intervals along the length of said framework, said drag elementsprogressively increasing in resistance from the forward end toward therear of the framework.

2. A streamer adapted for towing by aircraft comprising a tow line, anelongated skeleton framework attached thereto, and drag elementsdisposed above and below the upper and lower edges of said framework atspaced intervals therealong, said drag elements progressively increasingin resistance from the forward end toward the rear of the framework.

3. A streamer adapted for towing by aircraft comprising a tow line, aframework attached thereto including spaced rigid vertical members andnon-rigid parallel longitudinal members joining said vertical members,certain of said vertical members extending above the uppermostlongitudinal member and below the lowermost longitudinal member, dragelements disposed at the extremities of said latter vertical members,and an additional drag element trailed from the rear end of saidframework.

4. A streamer adapted for towing by aircraft comprising a tow line, aframework attached thereto including spaced rigid vertical members andnon-rigid parallel longitudinal members joining said vertical members,certain of said vertical members extending above the uppermostlongitudinal member with their extremities connected by diagonal tensionmembers to the top edge of said framework, drag elements disposed at theupper ends of said latter vertical members, and an additional dragelement trailed from the rear end of said framework.

5. A streamer adapted for towing by aircraft comprising a .tow line, aframework attached thereto including spaced rigid vertical members andnon-rigid parallel longitudinal members joining said vertical members,certain of said vertical members extending above the uppermostlongitudinal member and below the lowermost longitudinal member, dragelements arranged in pairs at spaced intervals along said framework andattached to the extremities of said vertical members, said drag elementsprogressively increasing in resistance from the forward end toward therear of the framework.

CHARLES D. YOUNG.

